#PBA2015 Philippine Cup Roundup: November 15-16, 2014

Jake Pascual broke out in
a big way to help Barako Bull earn win #1, and June Mar Fajardo came up big in
SMB’s win over Ginebra in 2014-2015 PBA Philippine Cup action last night. Also,
the Elasto-Painters frustrated the Meralco Bolts in Davao this past Saturday.

Top: June Mar Fajardo carried the Beermen past the Kings.Bottom: Jake Pascual stepped up big time for the Energy.

The Rain or Shine Elasto
Painters cruised to a 107-79 victory over the Meralco Bolts, but not before the
two sides engaged in a heated, physical battle all throughout their PBA
Philippine Cup matchup at the University of Southeastern Philippines gym in Davao
City. As Rain or Shine held a commanding 87-56 lead early in the fourth
quarter, tempers flared between the two teams when big man Raymond Almazan of
the Elasto Painters was pushed down to the floor by John Ferriols of the Bolts
during a rebound play. A fight between the two almost ensued before officials
and their teammates were able to pacify them. Ferriols got a flagrant foul one,
while Almazan was handed a technical foul after the incident. In the third
quarter, Gary David suffered a bloodied nose after being fouled in a drive
attempt. Teammate Jared Dillinger took the free throws for him as “El Granada”
never returned to the game. Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao was also ejected
early after being handed with two straight technical fouls at the 10:31 mark of
the second period due to complaining. Elasto Painters big man Beau Belga also
lost his teeth after a hard hit in the first period. Paul Lee finished with 20
points, 10 assists and three steals to lead Rain or Shine which booked its
third straight win for a 5-2 card. The Bolts, meanwhile, fell to 3-3. Jeff Chan
and Jericho Cruz scored well here with 16 and 15 markers respectively, while
Almazan added 14 points on top of 10 rebounds. On the other end, Mark Macapagal
had 16 to pace Meralco.

Rookie Jake Pascual scored
16 of his 22 points in the first half as he led Barako Bull past expansion team
Kia, 87-71, and to the team’s first win in the PBA Philippine Cup. Pascual, the
No. 8 pick of the 2014 PBA Draft, shot 9/13 from the field and grabbed 12
rebounds in a breakout performance for the Energy Cola. He had not scored more
than five points or grabbed more than seven rebounds in any of their first five
games. Teammate Willy Wilson added 11
points in the victory. With the win, Barako Bull finally entered the win column
after starting the season with five straight defeats. Kia, meanwhile, lost a
sixth consecutive game after opening the season with a win. LA Revilla dropped
21 markers to pace the Sorento, while Reil Cervantes added 15.

The San Miguel Beermen had
to weather a big, late rally from never-say-die Barangay Ginebra but came away
with a tight 79-77 victory to move into solo second place in the PBA Philippine
Cup. Reigning PBA MVP June Mar Fajardo finished with 21 points, 15 rebounds,
and 4 blocks, while Arwind Santos led the way with 22 points as San Miguel
improved to 5-1 for the season. The Beermen saw their 15-point, fourth quarter
lead wiped out by the comebacking Kings, but they made enough clutch baskets
and free throws down the stretch to escape with the win. Chris Lutz added 10
points, while rookie Ronald Pascual had seven, including a big three-pointer in
the last two minutes that helped stem the Ginebra rally. Ginebra slipped down
to third place with 5 wins agaisnt 2 defeats. The Kings were led by Greg
Slaughter, who had 16 points and 17 big rebounds, and Japeth Aguilar, who
scored 9 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter but blew a potential game-tying
alley-oop in the final minute.